Folding Shackles
---- Hunting the Hunter "This is not one bit funny," Blumenthal Gerhard hurried across the wooden streets of Dursea, the main town at the summer island of Shrewsoft. It was pretty large, but, even then, it only harbored simple civilization, although a very prosperous one. Their settlements manifested in the form of intricate huts, made through the use of their native archicteture and wood. Gerhard knew better than to stay that much on this island, after all, Marines periodically visited it, though he had been there for half a day already. Even high ranks such as Ravinger Terell, given the presence of a giant Snow Globe in the beach's distance. Soon he would know, as he ran in the docks. "These are the pirates from earlier..." People chatted in the background. "Oh yeah? Has someone already called the navy?" Others shrugged in response. "Rsrsrsrsrsrsrs!" Elizabeth tried muffling her laughter with her sleeve, gliding around the air while hugging the Caladbolg tight against herself. "Why so persistent?!" She cooed in the distance, many people turning to look at their convo, "Are you afraid some marine is- OH NO, I FORGOT THIS ISLAND IS A PIT-STOP!!!" Elizabeth cupped her head and nearly fell. Gerhard facepalmed, "Are y'serious?!" He yelled at her and closed his fists, his mask not muffling it any single bit. "What th' hell does ya' pirate alliance want to do with my Caladbolg?! Give't back!" Gerhard fisted the docks' wood, after some few seconds a new DUNGEON that expanded through a good deal of the island and part of the water surged. "Nononono!" Elizabeth tipped left and right with her finger, "Judith has said I've been slacking!" Then again, being caught here by a Marine of all things would be the true punishment. She clicked her teeth once a quite large aura entered her field, though, she couldn't take her eyes off Gerhard. "Is that some bird?" A young man asked as he pointed to a fast approaching object in the sky, and other townsfolk soon joined him in his guesswork. Some pointed out that the object was too big to be a bird, as no birds that lived around the Shrewsoft grew to that large a size. Someone even suggested a flying Pacifista! For all the suggestions made, none of them of them even approached the truth, for the actual object in the air was something entirely out of the ordinary. For soaring above Dursea was neither bird nor living weapon, but a massively oversized paper plane. Big enough to comfortably carry a few dozen marines wielding firearms, who looked horrified, unable to fathom that not only was a paper plane able to support their weight but even move at high speeds besides. Standing at the front of the plane, with one leg planted firmly on each wing was a blonde man wearing a finely-tailored vest in blue and yellow over a long-sleeved blue shirt. Accompanied by a long white marine jacket, draped over his shoulders like a cape, signifying the man's status as a high-ranking marine officer, which billowed out behind him as he flew, fastened by a clasp at the front. The Horseman of Conquest of the Notch Pirates had been reported on Shrewsoft mere minutes before, and as fate would have it, Sebastian had been closest to the island when the report was made. Welhaven couldn't deny it; he was nervous, the Notch Pirates were an infamous crew that consisted primarily of former Xros members if reports were to be believed. Blumenthal Gerhard was something entirely different than what he dealt with daily.. was this the day he failed the marines? Focusing his senses, Sebastian employed Kenbunshoku Haki as he searched the town below for powerful presences. Then, within his mind's eye, he extended his sight to encompass them all, and it was in this manner that he found Blumenthal Gerhard... curiously chasing some floating woman with a sword. Reaching out with a hand, Sebastian mentally steered the paper plane down towards the street below, as it surged forth and caused some of his subordinates to squeal in terror, clinging to one another for support. Moments before the paper plane was to collide into the streets mere yards away from the two criminals, Sebastian uttered the words "Flyvende Teppe!" as the entire paper plate split apart into individual paper slips of unusual proportions. Each carrying one of his subordinates like a flying carpet as both he and they descended to the ground in front of his quarry, overjoyed at their safe landing, some of the marines burst out into tears of joy. Meanwhile, their superior officer quietly sighed before giving them their orders. "Patrol the town; other pirates may have arrived here together with The Conquest, see to it that the townsfolk are protected!" His subordinates protested at first, saying if he was seriously considering taking on one of the highest ranking officers of the Notch Pirates on his own. "Don't worry about me! It would be pointless for you to face someone of his calibre, he is beyond you!" Sebastian shot back before he turned to Blumenthal and his friend. "Blumenthal Gerhard, Horseman of Conquest, you are at this moment under arrest for piracy! You can choose to come willingly, and I will promise you fair treatment." Welhaven's words disguised his anxiety well, but in his mind, he couldn't help but think: Hopefully, he is not beyond me too. "Oh no," Elizabeth uttered, bored expression facing the sky at which the paper flew at, "They sent some big guy, woohoo- OOPS!" She fakely cheered and flew even higher than she was, as a pillar of earth nearly pierced through her back. "That's daaaaangerous." Both had yet to fully acknowledge the paper plane. "Tch!" Gerhard grunted with a slightly sweaty face, hand upon the ground where the pillar erupted from, "Another pain t'deal with." The citizens around him had horrified expressions, after all, both he and Elizabeth were just chasing one another all this time, they had never attacked one another. Elizabeth laughed against Caladbolg, "Rsrsrsrs!" She eyed the upcoming Marines, "That is way daaaangerous, though," With a wink, Elizabeth took flight to the side of the beach, "GOOD LUCK!!" She smiled and waved at Gerhard. With a yell, Gerhard lunged at her, "NO, WAIT!" The ground beneath him erupted, both hands touching it, and formed itself into a thin platform. Yet, it never moved forward, as Gerhard heard the voices of many Marines, a louder one in particular, "Fuck, fuck." He clenched his fists, turning around and coming face to face with the newly arrived group. They all came in papers, where had he heard about that before? Eyeing the most notable man of the bunch, since he had a cape over his shoulders, Gerhard couldn't help his thoughts, "He is the only one of high rank..." He placed both hands upon the ground, making the platform slowly shift back into its normal form, eyes never leaving Sebastian. "Usually only Captains and beyond use those, right?" The man seemed to constantly give words of reassurance, a Marine through and through. Damnitt, Gerhard was alone in there, the rest of the notch crew was busy with the Imperial Pirates. Dexter wasn't nearby either. He had to keep his cool and handle this. "All of ya', stay back, please," Gerhard said out aloud towards the citizens on the dock, he could control his power well, but, he did not know to what lengths he should go against Sebastian. His Haki was very notable, however. "M'apologies, Marine, but I'mma' not stop now," Gerhard pointed at where Elizabeth had escaped, "That woman's got somethin' mine. So, don't try t'stop me." Even as he said so, Gerhard's hands were still on the ground, his DUNGEON was still up. Sebastian arched an eyebrow in surprise at how unexpectedly polite Gerhard was, most pirates he encountered tended to curse intently and call him all sorts of names. Welhaven was unsure if it was a welcome change or not, it spoke to a certain calmness that unnerved him. Even before the marine responded to the statement, he'd scattered innumerable paper slips throughout the area which grew to such staggering numbers that it seemed as though the two men stood in the middle of a snowstorm. "You won't have any need of worldly possessions, where you are going, Conquest, me letting you go here would only bring dishonour to the marines." Whatever his reasons, he could not permit Blumenthal Gerhard to escape. He was an essential figure in a prominent pirate crew, to bring him in would give the populace hope and weaken the operations of the Notch Pirates substantially. Sebastian let out a sigh as he commenced his attack, there was a rustle and then a fluttering sound, like those of a thousand tiny wings as a large white dome formed around Blumenthal's dungeon, just outside its visible mist-like perimeters, composed of too many paper slips to count, moving like two separate layers in different directions. Sebastian had heard from marine reports that Gerhard had some way of manipulating the environment, and he suspected that the strange circle directly around him was somehow connected to his powers. He would not engage him in melee if he could help it, but he was a mid-to-long range specialist anyway. The officer willed his first assault to begin, as parts of the inner walls of the white paper dome that surrounded Gerhard fluttered off out of formation and assumed the shape of twenty origami birds, which shot flight with extraordinary alacrity, appearing as blurs to the naked eye. Darting around Gerhard in erratic and unusual motions before diving in to attempt to crash into his body with a level of force that might seem absurd given the fact that they were entirely made of paper. With each origami bird attacking separately from the previous one and aimed at a different location of Blumenthal's body to maximise their chances of hitting. As the one who ate the Pasa Pasa no Mi, Sebastian was a Logia who could generate, manipulate and transform into paper, but while he lacked the overt destructive power of other Logia users at Headquarters, he could muster a deceptively powerful offence all the same. Outside the dome Welhaven hovered a few meters above the ground, staying aloft with the aid of two large wings made up of thousands of individuals paper slips, giving him an almost angelic appearance. His eyes were closed as he used Kenbunshoku Haki to keep track of Gerhard and direct what went on inside the dome, his hands trailing through the air, continuously supplementing the dome with more and more whirling paper slips. Finally, he snapped his fingers as the entire dome collapsed inwards around Gerhard, assailing him from all directions with white sheets that sought to cling to his body and impair further movement. Before finally the marine officer lifted his hands and made a flourish, commanding the entire structure to fold itself around Gerhard in a manner that would leave only his nose free if successful, all in an attempt to disable and then restrain him, making him easier to transport back with him. Dishonour? "Well then," Gerhard sighed as well, glancing around as what appeared to be paper continuously came out of the man. "Paper? Didn't that Shichibukai-" It was not the time for it, Gerhard knew this man would not slack, his aura told a bit about himself, a man that wanted to prove himself, that wanted recognition. Right? For this, he needed and would use Kenbunshoku. Whilst the paper surrounded them, Gerhard made sure to keep his hands on the ground, preparing some commands to be issued to it, the ground gained cracks throughout it. The papers were circling the entire area, standing just where his dungeon ended, at the border of the docks and slightly into the sea, "So, he knows." That changed things a bit. "Chaos-'''" Gerhard uttered and swiftly rose both his arms, an action that also made the ground around him erupt violently, rocks moved as if they were mud and pushed away some paper that wandered through the air, yet they still seemed to retain their density. "-& Order!!" With a single movement from his hands, the soil itself roared, Gerhard made it surround his being in a large area, but, just enough for it to cover the sides that were supposed to be hit, even part of the top. However, this barrier wasn't static, Gerhard continued to do arm movements and touch it, making it spin around itself, creating a more symmetrical wind current. Now, Gerhard really hoped the citizens were away, because he wouldn't stop this. His arms continued to move back and forth, so that it could rotate even fiercer, producing a rispping sound. The initial explosion had indeed pushed many papers away, those that weren't commanded to attack the Pirate. But, the explosion hadn't fully stopped the paper birds, only probably delaying them a single second, Gerhard tried to stop them with his rotating barrier as it gathered both the earth's thickness and centrifugal force. It seemed he made the right call, as all of the paper that made the dome began to crush inwards. Gerhard continued with the same tactic, adding even more rocks from the ground itself and increasing the magnitude of his soil hurricane, so that it could expand outwards and collide against Sebastian's paper dome. The few wooden houses were easily cut and crushed in-between their clash. Should his own succeed in overwhelming Sebastian's paper due to its thickness and rotation, Gerhard made sure it would continue until it hit Sebastian himself. Earth and paper collided, pressing against one another as his sheets began shearing through the very earth, screeching against one another and battling for supremacy. Yet in the end, however empowered it was, Sebastian's dome was still paper and eventually began quickly losing ground against the whirlwind of earth, an oxymoron if Sebastian ever heard one. Torn sheets began to litter the ground like strewn confetti, and the dome shrunk more and more, on the verge of bursting apart, but that was the moment where Welhaven redoubled his efforts, and with both hands raised he conjured forth a steady stream of white slips that supplementet the white dome, empowering its foundations greatly and allowing it to push back against its opposition. Once more the white dome began enclosing on Gerhard, aided by the continously supplied power of a Logia. Yet Sebastian was not about to attempt the same tacric a second time and as white streams of paper bolstered the dome, he had the new slips fold together with the old, essentially doubling and then tripling their mass, size and durability. This only succeeded in pushing back the raging earth further, and that was when the marine revealed his true intents, as he made all of the paper slips move in a direction opposite to the earth within. The result was telling, as the individual sheets of paper within seemed to merge into a towering cylinder due to the sheer speed at which they moved, enveloping the horseman in a huge tornado of whirling paper. Hurricane-like winds were produced on the inside of the cylinder due to the constant rotations, disassembling the earth which Gerhard employed in his attack and sending it whirling about on the inside, even as those selfsame forces threatened to rip Blumenthal off his footing and send him hurtling up into the churning vortex, to be continously battered and struck by the leftover debris of his own making. For through the Color of Observation it had been a simple matter to identify that Blumenthal had the ability to manipulate the environment, and to what extent. Sebastian had also noticed that whenever he employed his powers he touched it. The white tornado that he'd conjured was also a way to disable Gerhard's earth-based attacks by rendering him airborne, even as it doubled as an offence turning his past weapons against him in a continous and unending barrage. Sebastian understood the brutality of this attack, but his assignment was to capture Blumenthal and as one of the strongest members of the Notch Pirates, he assumed his quarry would live. One thing was for certain, no half-assed assaults were likely to work, but he always knew this wasn't going to be easy. Once more he had the papers constrict in towards the centering, in the process attempting to greatly increase the pull of the winds and make it all the more difficult for the other man to evade the rocks, soil and stone that whirled about inside the vortex. "Shoulda' knew this wouldnta' been easy," Gerhard noted, one eyebrow up as the amount of paper suddenly increased around him, "A game of endurance, then." His powers shifted from making the earth around him rotate, he knew pushing it further would just create a power struggle between them until either got tired, and into doing something entirely else. Signals were issued through all of the surrounding environment, even the one outside of the forming paper hurricane, it made the previous earth tornado close in too and crack completely. "He's used th' fact that I's the one caged inside our struggle an' make me lose ground," Gerhard smiled. Sebastian was easily one of the best marines Gerhard had come across, which was why Gerhard wouldn't slack. His hairlocks beat towards one side, moving violently due to the wind. His Haki flared through his body at the very moment that the shield of earth crumbled and burst out, effectively flying around. "'''Koka!" In an instant, the signal of Busoshoku in the form of a black pigment covered almost all of Gerhard's body in a higher density than normal. He needed not to regulate the output by a large margin, after all, with his weight increasing Gerhard found his body pressed against the ground, it would make it even more difficult for the Hurricane send him flying and give him more time. The wind was starting to lift him up again, if it did, he would fly into the clouds. In fact, only the palms of his hands stood not covered in haki, as they touched the ground, the issues were ready, "Ensuing Chaos!" Something akin to a siren went off, with a cry the earth beneath was torn open into an explosion of air and dirt, the tearing continued as a large fissure-like further along the base of the paper hurricane in order to unbalance it off. Such cry and explosions merged and gave birth to a growing earthquake. Gerhard got pushed inwards by the following explosions, "Gh!" Which did not simply crumble the ground before them, they made it erupt so that it would interrupt the way of the many papers. Bedrocks were sent flying, in tandem with the explosions and not the hurricane, should it get overwhelmed due not only losing base, but path. With the shockwave going in all directions, the papers would supposedly burst offwards into Sebastian. The rumbling would be heard throughout the entire island, as its animals fled, its trees were pushed, and a tidal wave surged offwards by the seas. And the explosions hadn't stopped there, since their path continued further into the ground below Sebastian, sending rocks flying at such speed that they started to break apart once they reached certain heights. Following these, most of the ground, wood of the docks, ascended into the air in all directions. Amidst all of this, with his haki uncovering his body, Gerhard made sure to leave one hand at the ground, while the other suspended into the air, making him prepare for his next attack, should the amount of paper or even the hurricane come back. Pure Restraints Sebastian both felt and saw the earth shudder and break apart both inside and outside of the immense white cylinder. It was a powerful attack, but through his Haki, he could make out its purpose, namely to disrupt the tornado and escape his predicament, yet Welhaven was determined not to let that happen just yet. For the marine felt genuine anger at the other man, his powers were a true menace to civilisation, and Sebastian's heart trembled with regret at how many townsfolk would return to find their homes destroyed by this man. He needed to incapacitate him now, and that might eventually necessitate employing lethal force he suspected. Sebastian cursed his weakness as he often did, they should in all likelihood have sent another to deal with this man. Despite the officers self-chastising, when he manipulated the paper slips in response to Blumenthal's strategy, the results were telling, as they danced between the ascending rocks. Evading them deftly all while barely slowing down their rotation, ensuring that the winds continued on the inside as they had before as Sebastian displayed extraordinary precision in handling his Devil Fruit powers. But it didn't end there, as streams of white paper shot forth from his being and gathered around the launched stones, packaging them inside the white paper, with remaining slips folding with the previous ones for enhanced durability and power. Sebastian repeated the process on the approaching rocks below him, using a horizontal wall of interlocked paper sheets to break their momentum before repackaging them as his future weapon. Paper beats rock, after all. Then he issued his powers down into the ground while the tornado continued to rage around Gerhard, besieging him continuously with large slabs of stone and rock. Welhaven directed an enormous white undercurrent through the field, shearing through the earth and replacing its top layer with itself, like a hidden platform. Barely disguised by the faintest layer of dirt on top... the paper tiles that'd be directly beneath Blumenthal were reinforced with Busoshoku Haki, turning the paper slips black and enhancing their strength and durability manifold, with other layers of paper folding below them to supplement their potency. With a hand outstretched, Sebastian caused the colossal paper platform to ascend into the air, composed of hundreds of thousands of interlocked sheets. Each finely connected and attached to one another to achieve the strength in unity that they couldn't alone. Onlookers remarked in wonderment as the entire street was lifted into the air, leaving the ground behind as Sebastian beat his white wings and flew up into the air in hot pursuit. Once airborne again, Welhaven raised his arms once more as the edges of the flying paper platform began to curl inwards at an accelerated pace, even as the tornado started to shrink, its ceiling expanding outwards to form another secondary dome of paper sheets. Midways they connected and then the massive white structure shrunk at an extraordinary pace, as the tornado suddenly changed direction and rushed inwards to seize hold of each of Gerhard's limbs, particularly in regards to overpowering his arms in such a manner that his palms would be forced inwards towards his chest and restrained there. While the rest of construct folded upon itself, amassing greater and greater power and strength until it would eventually turn into the shape of a large white coffin of reinforced paper in dozens upon dozens of layers. With the idea of safely capturing the Horseman of Conquest. Whether successful or not, Sebastian thought to himself at the completion of the complex sequence of attacks. I guess this is all I can do for now. "Bosses never stop movin'," Gerhard mentally reminded himself just as Sebastian started to stop the erupting rocks... with paper, paper. He needed a new weapon, a temporary substitute for his Caladbolg, even if not to par. A grin, even if covered by his mask, etched into his expression, his hand never left the ground. Gerhard was honestly tired of reminding himself. From the floor, using a hand he took a large portion of earth out, separating it from the rest and instantly covering it with the pigment of his Koka, simple Busoshoku wouldn't do it. Something which happened shortly before the ground below him seemed to shift a bit... it acquired another layer? He gave it a quick glance through his aura, it was paper, this man was really keen on caging him from all sides and so far, even if slowly, it was escalating. They were most visible once noticed that they had Haki deployed through their frames, Gerhard still had haki weighting down his body. "This is actually fun," Gerhard muttered to himself, cheeks puffed, as the platform trembled in its entirety, given the rumbling that was what he supposed, "Is it taking flight?" The tornado was still around. Their fight was fun, actually, destroying everything around them was not to his liking, but, he was sure he could fix it if he got out of this fight. Maybe even if he didn't. When the platform first took flight, his other hand already touched the amount of earth he garnered, and that was when Gerhard made it compress and shift into a sword, slightly curved. As the hand did so, it also rested over his other one. His balance was slightly lost, since his usage of Haki prevented any further loss. It would have to in place of the Caladbolg, even if it wouldn't survive a single usage or technique, a blade covered in his own will to supplement his own skill. If he weren't fully serious, he wouldn't be capable of escaping this man, not much restraining anymore. It was time, Gerhard closed his eyes. "Ishitoryu," The paper around him started to shrink violently, something which he could predict, given the immense intention behind it. Gerhard couldn't waste anymore time, both hands clutching the hilt of the sword, he moved the sword to rest to the side of his left hip, his eyes opened, "Phantomart!" In an instant, invisible even to trained eyes, a red flash doozed from the improvised blades and descended upon the ground, the air not even resisting, not even registering its passage. A slash that barely carried any ill intent upon it, after all, it was a slash to save. Almost as if realizing that it forgot to react to such a swift attack, the air bent all of a sudden and was pushed back, crashing against the oncoming paper and halting its converging proccess. But, do that was not what it only achieved, the very ground beneath it, its main target, was visibly ripped apart in a vertical manner, though, it looked more like the paper got pushed open. Should one look at the beach below the platform, they would see that its surface was scratched by the air pressure of the attack. Phantomart sought to make extreme use of speed, an attribute that was also one of Gerhard's best, in order to deal out delayed reactions, not actions. Gerhard came to learn that Sebastian could supplement his existing paper and react accordingly, so, based on these reactions, he could assume that Sebastian felt what the paper felt. An slash to save? Even if Gerhard was self-taught, he still based his swordsmanship techniques in his medicinal arts, he was simply applying their usage with the sheer scope achieved by a much bigger scalpel, a sword. To have executed such a thing, Gerhard had to apply Order to his own being, since one hand rested over the other through the entire scenario, allowing him to perform the strike almost perfectly. Before another second even passed, Gerhard jumped straight off the small fissure, which would supposedly regenerate soon, and landed with a large boom against the sand of the beach, the tornado and floor were now probably wrapped around one another. Gerhard's Busoshoku worn off from his body, having been used for quite some time to not let him be sent flying, it was best to refuel for now. This was a frustrating boss battle and, once again, he knew he couldn't rest, not fully. The makeshift sword was destroyed before he was even out of the paper prison, Gerhard was back to his hands again and suspended them in the air. His Commands were limited to things he could touch, but, unknown to many, the air was barely touchable, yet, nevertheless, "Gruff Chaos!" The currents, the molecules, all rubbed against one another, producing loud hisses and generating break waves that were potent enough to cause friction with one another and once again push everything. Friction which, with the help of Gerhard's powers, further escalated into actual fiery explosions, fireworks that illuminated the entire beach and sought to incinerate most of the papers in the area, before they were ordered to get Gerhard, and by extension Sebastian himself, who was close to the platform. Mere moments was all that Sebastian had before the incoming wave of flame would reach both him and his paper. That moment was all he needed as paper started to stream into his paper wings, folding together with them to increase their size and scope several times over, until they had a wingspan easily two-hundred feet across. Their tips turning pitch black with the Color of Armament, enhancing their strength significantly. Then Sebastian performed a mighty wing buffet, beating the very air into submission with such force that the roaring inferno was hurled back. Pulled down in the form of a massive fireball as the wind claimed sovereignty over the flames and dictated a new path, as Sebastian sought to burn Gerhard into submission, diverting his attack with the power of the Pasa Pasa, his wings fulfilling the role of two oversized paper fans. The marine wasn't unaffected by what had transpired, fire didn't agree with him, in fact, it didn't agree at all with most people but to Sebastian, it was a fatal weakness, and merely the heat produced by such a potent attack had given him light burns. Gritting his teeth in pain, Sebastian now realised that since his adversary had some way to employ fire, he couldn't risk fighting him at a range like this, he'd need to occupy him at a closer-range to pressure him. Even before the fireball detonated on the beach in a raging firestorm, fusing sand to glass and potentially giving Blumenthal a taste of his efforts, Welhaven had already set the preliminary stages of his next attack into motion. His massive wings split apart into four smaller appendages, with the excess paper being folded into them to strengthen their structure significantly. Meanwhile behind him, the paper that he'd employed thus far was spurred into motion once again, the paper platform assembling into thousands of folded white daggers in the shape of feathers, each was composed of numerous paper slips and therefore possessed an offensive power far beyond that which might be inferred from their meagre appearance. Then Logia-user and paper stream moved together as one; ordinarily, Sebastian's speed was noteworthy but hardly excellent. But by manifesting wings and folding them he could use power to increase his speed when he had four pairs of wings that benefit only doubled, and so it was that Sebastian reached Gerhard long before his secondary attack, appearing before him in a blur. Sebastian swung each of his giant wings at the other man, only now they were no longer wings but instead four muscular white arms that each held a long nodachi, each draped with the black ichor that represented Sebastian's willpower. When swung, they each lashed out in unison while Sebastian's actual arms conducted them and the incoming hail of white feathers that were now mere yards away. Each nodachi was several metres in length and was far more massive and heavy than any sword that the marine officer could wield on his own, and this allowed him to strike comfortably without actually ever getting into melee-range himself. Each blow caused shockwaves of compressed air to ripple forth in the wake of their slashes, tearing long lines in the surrounding earth and soil as Welhaven redoubled his offensive, all while attempting to disguise how nervous he was. Thus far he'd miraculously avoided taking any damage, but that could only mean that his opponent was going easy on him! It was then that flying white paper daggers reached the two combatants, splitting into two large streams that emerged from either side of the marine and then converged upon him from two fronts simultaneously, even as the Nodachi swung through the air in rapid succession, undoubtedly adding additional pressure onto the pirate. Among the paper daggers, only the front row was imbued with Haki, but the remaining ones sported significant force as well.. enough so that even if they might not break through his Koka, they might undoubtedly strain his Haki reserves. It was a brutal onslaught to be sure, as Sebastian had realized that in order for him to stand a chance at capturing his quarry, he needed to fight as if he meant to kill him.. besides, his use of piercing and slashing weaponry meant that there was always the hope that he Gerhard might faint due to blood loss. He's gone easy on me thus far, hopefully, he continues to do so. "WHA-" Was all that left Gerhard's muffled mouth once Sebastian furiously beat his wings, the sight of the explosions getting bigger as they were deflected by the Marine, it had also been enough to push Gerhard back some meters. No way this guy wasn't a high rank, he must have been a Vice-Admiral. "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Gerhard closed his eyelids shut, not taking his hands off the air which prompted them to also receive the heat more directly, though, it was that why his hands stood there, trying to get the fireball away, even if slightly. His senses told him, Gerhard didn't even need to glance back, the border of his dungeon was a few meters behind, signaled by a thin mist hovering above the ground. Gerhard only succeeded in pushing the fireball back a few meters, making it explode against the sand and make Gerhard get sent flying a certain distance with another grunt, "Hah..." Despite the caused injury, his forearms getting burns, Gerhard would also be a few meters farther than where Sebastian would have reached him, footwear sliding against the sand. That small distance could be enough for him to fully register the sudden increase in the marine's speed, his Kenbunshoku was up and had not been used like his Busoshoku, and prepare a bit. Hands mindlessly still on the air, Gerhard's eyes went bloodshot at the paper constructs that were aimed for him, the problem was... there were ones coming alongside Sebastian and ones used by him. "Gruff Chaos," It was more of a thought than him saying it, as explosions erupted once again, this time closer to and in-between both combatants, and lightened the entire area. Yet another time, the seas cried and were sent away while the earth itself rumbled in the wake of the large boom. It was seemingly too close and sudden for either of them to dodge, though, Gerhard's intentions were more inclined towards making himself get sent flying backwards again by its force and catch Sebastian in close-range, effectively counter-attacking some of the paper that accompanied him. What he hadn't expected was the first few slashes of Sebastian's blades to pass through as well, something that he couldn't dodge in that situation. "Wha' kind of combo-" Gerhard grit his teeth and coughed blood, though it was contained within his mask, since both the explosion blew him backwards and several of the slashes pressed against his torso. His shirt was torn up and he was further sent flying, off the Dungeon which disappeared that very second, his body rolled like a blurr against the sand and into the distance. Gerhard pressed a kick against the ground, preparing to stop his violet movement, and clutched his bleeding torso, "I need another dungeon... to patch this up," His teeth gritted once again, the wounds on his chest itching, Gerhard was seating. "No, I need to get out of 'ere..." He had no further time to think, as several haki enhanced projectiles of paper came to his being, probably the only ones that survived that point blank explosion? The explosion and attacks had sent him a considerable distance from Sebastian, to the point he seemed closer to that giant snow globe, his right hand prepared a Dungeon. Gerhard covered his legs, so that his arms rested, with hardened haki and jumped when the papers were close enough. He kicked a myriad of them at their side with the sole of his feet, something which ensued into a brief clash and made the nearby coconut trees flinch. The papers were shot into the ocean, so they would not return to attack him by Sebastian's command, while Gerhard was sent backwards and landed between the water and the snow globe's base with his hands. "Dungeon," This time, it extended half over the ocean a fair distance and half over the sand and trees, Gerhard trying to make sure his hands were ready to touch whatever, though, he indicated he would touch the ocean water. "I need ta' cage 'im and then try to escape..." Much like before, Gerhard held no ill to Sebastian, killing him was out of his thoughts. Before Blumenthal had set off his explosions, the marine's Kenbunshoku Haki picked up a precognition of the explosions. It was faint and imperfect, but it was enough of a warning that even as Blumenthal set them off, Sebastian had reinforced his body with multiple layers of folded paper. Imbued with Haki to strengthen its defensive properties, yet at this close a range and given his weakness to the element in question there just was no way to avoid all of it. Intense heat scorched Sebastian's flesh, inflicting severe burns to his torso and arms and momentarily halting his relentless assault. Welhaven fell to one knee, momentarily dazed by the agony, yet even in this pressing circumstance he didn't forget his objective and so when his palm met the sand, he channelled the power of the Pasa Pasa into the ground below. Releasing thousands of paper sheets that travelled almost imperceptibly beneath their feet until they erupted in a shower of sand in the shape of four massive black hands, that moved with deceptive speed and precision, each attempting to grab hold of Blumenthal and submerge him bodily in the water behind him. At this point though, Sebastian felt as though an attack like that might be too unambitious to give the pirate much pause and so it was that he backed up this assault by calling upon the paper-bound rocks that he'd prepared earlier in their fight. Which moved through the air with all the grace of birds, manipulated through precise hand movements on Sebastian's part. For when an object was covered in enough paper, it could be moved and directed as though it was itself made of the same material, in this way Sebastian had achieved something that resembled telekinesis. Shooting down from the heavens like stray comets, these paper-bound stones bombarded the area where Blumenthal was in with overbearing force, shaking the very foundation of this ground, and causing waves of rippling sand to expand outwards from the craters they'd form, and expelling enough air pressure so to potentially hurl Blumenthal off his feet and into the sea. Following this preliminary demonstration of their raw power, performed in the vain hope that his adversary would surrender. Getting back onto his feet, Sebastian made another gesture with his hands as these paper-bound projectiles acquired the black sheen of Welhaven's will made manifest. With a level of precision and finesse that seemed impossible for objects of such size, the marine officer had them surround and encircle Gerhard from all sides, and then the real attack would begin, as Sebastian's hands moved like blurs. One after another they would sweep down to slam into Gerhard's body at high speeds, as the marine attempted to undermine him by literally beating him into submission with large pieces of debris behaving like disembodied fists. Their movements were erratic, and once one had finished attacking it would return to its original location, ready to attack anew, always aimed such that at least some of them were targetting a blind spot at all times. I know this isn't going to work, it's me after all. But for the sake of the Marines, I'm going to do my best regardless! "Even against a natural weakness..." Gerhard's eyes glinted at the far sight of Sebastian coming out of the explosion and his hand touched the surface of the water, the sound of parching came in the distance, more specifically the sound of paper. "There is no doubts now," Paper erupted from the sands in front of Gerhard, whose eyes narrowed, and formed into large hands, "He truly is a veteran player." As he said so, Chaos was finished being issued and the water surged in the form of many spikes, cloaked in Gerhard's own haki, giving them something akin to a dirty appearance. The many water jets sought to pierce through these very hands, utilizing a power increased several folds by the Haki and their own wetness to soften them, they were still paper after all. A clash of Haki could only ensue the birth of many sparks within the atmosphere, pushing everything away from there and creating a stalemate between the blows. Gerhard took it as a cue and ran off a bit from the ocean, one hand was free, while the other brought along a tentacle of water with the tip of its fingers, so he could keep controlling the water. It continued to press harshly against the incoming paper, flooding the entire place as to keep it all at bay. More to the side, Gerhard thought as if he had heard something, like some wind rustling against itself, a presence. Could it have been that woman...? But, he shrugged it off, it was of no matter, Sebastian was the matter at hand. He had felt the cold even without even touching it, the presence of this snow globe which represented the powers of Fuyuki's Yuki Yuki no Mi, yet Gerhard made sure to show none of his intentions, if Sebastian could defend against that explosion, he had to play safe. His other hand touched the water tentacle, increasing the pace at which the liquid moved around violently, it was then that for some reason, Gerhard found himself looking at rocks. Rocks which were falling too hard and too fast, but, with two hands, he could induce more chaos and kick-start he action. "Hmmmmmmmmmmm!!" Gerhard grunted in a muffle, making more of the ocean's water erupt erratically and travel through mid-air, sharply hitting against the many projectiles, though, surprisingly only one of his hands stood there at that point. The water spears were reinforced with Haki at their tips, while Gerhard had recovered some of his for sure, he could never be too safe and opted to concentrate it where it beneffited the most. Hitting harshly against the several rocks, the water wasped through the air and provoked booms in the atmosphere, spilling some of itself all over the place, "HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" As Gerhard defended himself from the many meteors, his other hand was resting on the base of the snow globe, shivering against it and having stood there since the clashes began, his command was nearly done. His eyes widened, however, once shards of rock and paper hit against his body, specifically his stomach and thighs, probably passing through even though they were smashed against the water, teeth grit, Gerhard surpressed grunts of pain, mind still focused on his task. Adrenaline rushed into his veins, not allowing the air to get out of his system, even if he was cut and hit bluntly, that was when he decided to focus on his Kenbunshoku, perceiving things at a faster rate instead of using Busoshoku on the waters. He hoped his supposition was right, that Sebastian would try yet again to approach him and engage in close combat, it was why he placed his bets on the snow, though, even then, he knew that if this succeeded it would reach Sebastian. Enough time seemed to have passed- "?!?!" Gerhard grunted once again, as an entire rock managed to blitz through the water and graze violently at the left side of his forehead, blood flew off the wound and fell on the ground behind him, still spilling. His irises shook within their sclera, "Pause?" Gerhard blinked. His body stumbled, seemingly going to fall on his back, his hand left the touch on the water due to the sudden movement. Yet... "NO!" Gerhard clinged, the muscles on his legs, arms, and torso all tightened. He placed his left foot in the ground behind him, sustaining himself, his eyes glanced up at the remaining rocks that threatened to hit against him, his other hand never left the globe, its skin was nearly coming off. But, for that moment, with the adrenaline at its peak, Gerhard wouldn't care, "CAAAAATASTROPHE!!" He yelled, pupils trembling, and body shaking whilst his hair flared. A big chunk of the snow structure erupted off itself, going forward as if it was a roar, a roar whose anger was redirected toward Sebastian and whose very presence shook the entire island and the waters around it. Taking advantage of the moisture spilled through the air due to the clash of rock and water, the cold spreaded within seconds, interrupting the meteor-rocks, covering the paper on the ground, and instantly reaching around Sebastian's figure. Black, black was the vision that was to come, a result of so much white filling the atmosphere, white byproduct of a cold so intense that it never melted for the long time it had been there. It came from above, from below, from the sides, and from directly towards him, supposedly engulfing the marine and closing around him in a cold embrace, shutting him off for an unknown amount of time. The snow globe lost part of its structure, but, Gerhard didn't even pay attention to that and dashed off in the distance, although his legs were still sore and his right hand now missed the skin on its palm, blood dripping from it. Were his fingers too affected by it too? His senses yelled at him to go in the direction of the noise from earlier, blood still dripped from his forehead and torso, legs almost not sustaining him. "ELIZABETH!!?" Gerhard coughed, blood oozing from his mask. It was a travesty! The work of Admiral Fuyuki that he had so lovingly given to the people of Shrewsoft to serve as a symbol of how the island was under marine protection, destroyed! Desecrating that monument challenged the World Government itself, it had the same symbolic meaning as declaring: You cannot protect this island any more! It was, in other words, an act of war! Sebastian was surprised that Gerhard even dared do such a thing. The nerve of some pirates. Most would undoubtedly tremble at a massive avalanche heading their way, and were he not a Logia-user, it would undoubtedly threaten him as well. The circumstances being what they were, Sebastian's form merged into a mighty stream of blackened paper slips that was buried under how many tons of snow. In this new form, he dug deep into the snow, flooding against it as he sheared his way out of the white mass and to freedom. Utilising his Kenbunshoku to not lose track of his quarry, although he assumed that he would eventually fail in his mission, he would do his very best regardless to minimise the inevitable. Crimes Bursting free of their restraints, the stream of haki-imbued paper sheets shot past the running Blumenthal, slowed from his many injuries and blocked his path like a giant black wall. Out of which stepped a partially formed Sebastian, his white paper wings outstretched like an angel of judgement. As he extended his hands, there was the selfsame flutter of thousands of paper slips that returned once more, whirling around the pirate as Welhaven produced a single unusual piece of paper, coloured a light blue as opposed to the usual white. Then, with a gesture, he threw it at Blumenthal, while speaking its name and the required phrase. "Pasa Pasa. Spell Tag: Kulde!" No sooner had those words been spoken than the entire surrounding area of the beach became covered with a fresh layer of rime, and the temperature plummeted far below zero as the Spell Tag, imbued with one of Fuyuki's own applications sought to strip away all heat from Gerhard in one fell swoop. Rendering him unable to move, react or respond at all, numbing all of his muscles and lowering his body temperature almost to the point of death, but only almost. Then in the same motion, he'd resume his offensive, as white walls began shrinking around Blumenthal, attempting to seal him in as once more white bands of reinforced and triple-folded paper would seek to restrain his palms and hands against his chest to prevent his escape. "HOW THE HELL DID YOU FIND ME?!" Despite the desperation in those words, those were merely thoughts, thoughts that filled the entirety of Elizabeth's mind. Her eyes widened even further when Gerhard tried to leap towards her, "This fucker has already called my name out... I can't be seen again!!" In fact, Elizabeth had used the powers of her Devil Fruit, the Tere Tere no Mi to send ripples through the air and make it surround her, effectively making herself invisible as long as she remained static. It was why she had not left the island, she couldn't risk Gerhard or Sebastian finding her at the beach, so this was the best she could do for that moment. After all, either of them could just follow her if they saw her taking flight off the island. Before Gerhard could truly reach her, Elizabeth forced her foot downards, crashing it against the side of his face, whilst his eyes widened. But, them widening was so that Gerhard could pierce through Elizabeth's very frame with a bloodshot glare, it made her breath catch in her throat, but, nevertheless, a kick collided against his cheek. His mask ripped out, Gerhard crashed against the ground in a boom, then, a large amount of paper had been summoned by Sebastian, circling the entire area. Gerhard laid down in the ground, face uncovered, irises nearly fading along with his consciousness, as something was sapped out of him. Cold, he felt cold, was he going to die? "Game over...?" He muttered at Sebastian, where was the Try again button? The cold sapped into his being. His face was surprisingly normal, for someone who always hid it under a mask, it felt cold too. Even so, his love for the cold never diminished, even if it was against him. He didn't even feel as the paper constricted around his limbs, forcing his hands against his chest, Elizabeth looked on with widened eyes. Her gaze hovered over the Caladbolg, it was all fine, for her. On the notion that Sebastian focused on Gerhard, she silently flew backwards, searching for a route off the island. Sebastian assumed his standard form as the papers enveloped the pirate in a white coffin, leaving only his face exposed to allow him to breathe. Pulling out a Den Den Mushi with a fabulous purple wig, cheap eyeliner and glossy lipstick, Sebastian spoke to the woman stationed at headquarters, Miss Petunia. "The Horseman of Conquest is captured, requesting a ship for proper transport to Impel Down. Also, bring a judge to decide upon his sentence midway." Welhaven looked down at Blumenthal for a moment, sighed and turned back to the Den Den Mushi before adding. "A proper Judge, someone who will give this man a fair trial, he is not a monster. Merely someone who chose the wrong path." The Den Den Mushi stared blankly back at him as Miss Petunia replied in her usual pleasant sing-song manner. "Yololooo! You've done well, Welhaven-kun! Yolalala, I will arrange for a ship to come to pick you and your captive up shortly. Yolululu! ---- The large seastone covered warship pulled up in the dock of Shrewsoft some hours later, by that point the entirety of Sebastian's subordinates had assembled on the beach, and in addition to being restrained by paper, Blumenthal also had his wrists and arms fastened by seastone handcuffs. Several other marine officers were on the ship, as the World Government expected to meet heavy resistance from the Notch Pirates and their allies. "Wha' a pain," Gerhard mused, walking slowly while escorted by the many soldiers, face against the cold air of the beach. He sighed, glancing down at his feet, if only he hadn't been hasty and wanted to get the Caladbolg back, he would likely still be in Carteciello. He glanced at Sebastian, who was supposedly nearby, "Could'ja give me my mask back?" The man wasn't very aggressive, so Gerhard figured why not. "That's the very least thin' y'could do, if y'won't let me fix those houses." Truly, some of the houses at Dursea were shredded to pieces, work of Gerhard's powers. One marine pressed against Gerhard's side, ushering him to get quiet, "Fine, fine." Gerhard sighed again, "Can I still tend ta' patients while 'n there- Oomph," Another poke on his side. Category:Role-Plays Category:Finished Role-Plays